Homegrown Music Festival

The Homegrown Music Festival is an annual community celebration of the original and diverse music of Duluth, Minn. and its surrounding communities. What started in 1999 with five acts has matured in its 20th year to an eight-day community-wide local music, arts and cultural extravaganza.

Category: 2019

Category: 2019

Duluth’s rawkingest celebration is about to get real, with more than 50 acts spread across 14 venues — or 15 if you count the free DTA trolley. Mayor Larson calls the mobile music experience “hands down” the best part of the fest and recommends taking the time to ride out a whole set to get the full effect. Friday’s route will feature performances by Kaylee Matuszak and Kyle Ollah. Born Too Late takes the stage at Beaner’s at 7 p.m. The juvenile power trio was the talk of Homegrown 2018 and is known for busting out robust renditions of songs by Metallica and Mötley Crüe. Sacred Heart’s show will make full use of the old church’s awesome acoustics. Resonant harmonies will abound with a slate of soulful acts, including Sing! A Woman’s Chorus, Gaelynn Lea and the Nat Harvie Trio. If you’re craving variety, Pizza Lucé’s Friday lineup will hit the spot, with the hip-hop of Hollow Profit, the alt country of Breanne Marie & the Front Porch Sinners and the indie folk of Amy Abts and the Transcranials. At midnight, earplugs are recommended for MRS & the Sordid Affairs and their heavy-hitting hard rock. For those looking to get their groove on, the Rex has got your vibe. DJ Sox, Nudecolors, Attom and the Crunchy Bunch will provide a fresh mix of chill and funky electronic beats as well as danceable indie pop ditties.

For the fifth night of the fest, party people must pass over the bay to play. Once in Wisconsin, leave the driving up to the DTA trolley, which will carry carousers around a loop of Soup Town venues, including the Spirit Room, the Main Club and Cedar Lounge. Theresa Williams and Jacob Mahon are slated to serenade passengers along the way.
Empire Coffee emerged as a new Superior venue this year. Nur Jehan Chishti opens the show at 6:30 p.m. It’s the perfect opportunity to wake the body and spirit for the odyssey ahead. Grab a dose of caffeine and succumb to the soothing musical meditation. If you linger a while longer, you can listen to for One Less Guest, a newish trio consisting of guitar, violin and upright bass that is “pushing the expectations of what three musicians can create together.”The bill at Izzy’s BBQ is appropriately meaty. The music gets progressively heavier through the night, beginning with traditional rock ’n’ roll by the Bottle Jockeys and transitioning to Prairie Fyre’s doomy stoner metal. Bratwurst can be trusted to bring the show to a sensational culmination. The avant-garde noise makers are known for fashioning power tools, shopping carts and sewage pipes into instruments. Raw meat is a favored prop. “Due to Izzy’s excellent reputation, we will be bringing only quality cuts of meat for this performance,” says band leader Tyler Scouton. For those with a fear of flying meat, the Reef offers an alternative. It’s Thursday’s only Duluth venue and promises a diverse line up that includes Hardaybra, Fearless Moral Inventory

It’s Hump Day, fellow Homegrowners! You’ve made it halfway through the week. But that doesn’t mean it’s time for shuteye. Saddle up and scarf down some vittles, you’re headed into untamed territory. It’s about to get wild on Duluth’s westside.

The Langertsons, two sets of siblings from Mahtowa, bring their youthful enthusiasm and original tunes to the Clyde Iron Works Mezzanine stage at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, music scene mainstay Todd Gremmels will bring boundless energy to Beaner’s for a 6:30 p.m. show.

Superior Siren will lure listeners to Clyde’s main stage at 7 p.m. The all-female, eerie folk group has been “building strength as a collective and as professional performers” of late, according to band leader Laura Sellner, who notes that people can “expect a captivating performance” that includes songs from the band’s debut album as well as some new material.

Next up are indie rocker Mary Bue and the disco-pop of Àlamode. Superior Siren is “honored” to share the Clyde stage with these diver- gent acts, according to Sellner. “I find that a show with varying genres of music creates more intrigue.”

Late night, it’s sure to get rowdy with acts like the Black-eyed Snakes and Ire Wolves closing down the bars at Mr. D’s and the Gopher, respectively.

For a lower key but equally entertaining end to the evening, head to the Kom-On-Inn for Toby Thomas Churchill. The perennial Homegrown performer can be counted on for edgy lyricism and lush musical textures.

Formerly known as “Ancillary Arts Night,” Homegrown Monday now features most of its programming in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District. But the evening begins downtown at Zinema 2 with the premiere of the 2019 Homegrown Music Video Festival. Sean Zarn is coordinating and predicts a spike in entries. There’s outreach to colleges and high schools this year to recruit student participation. After the multimedia experience comes a learning opportunity. The first ever Homegrown edition of Nerd Nite will feature several pre-sentations, a HGMF-themed game as well as door prizes

The remainder of Monday’s festivities take place at a cluster of venues in Lincoln Park, several of which are new and had a test run during the Homegrown Winter Fiasco. Bards of the Twin Ports will assemble at the Duluth Folk School for the annual Homegrown Poetry Showcase at 7 p.m. An estimated 30 wordsmiths will recite works, with musical accompaniment by guitarist Richie Townsend.

Tina Higgins Wussow is excited to organize the event again and “happy to get to host and hang out with this awesome community of writers.” Lake Superior Brewing’s odd double bill includes robots and old-timey music. Bent Paddle hosts a French horn choir, of all things, as well as bluesy rock and bluegrass. On tap at Duluth Cider is a tasty mix of rhythm and blues, psychedelic rock and ska. Music runs latest at the Caddy Shack, where Rick McLean and crew cap off the night debuting material from an upcoming EP. McLean says the band is progressing in an “electric/energetic direction” and fans can “expect a few rippers in there.